A high unemployment rate, tensions and wars around the world, soaring gas prices, job stress...Are today's anxieties shrinking your Christmas spirit, your sense of joy, your purpose, your song? This Advent, expect the unexpected. Reconnect with the Christmas story, the arrival of Christ's biblical message of hope and healing for this world. Expecting the Unexpected is a spiritual feast for the mind and imagination. Use it each day of the four-week Advent season. Open it and find: vivid day-by-day biblical images and reflections on Jesus' life and message small-group discussion themes and prayers a featured weekly Christmas hymn by Charles Wesley, whose lyrics ("Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and others) witness to a faith of gusto and courage "I often wonder how we can decorate our tree, haul out the nativity set, sing 'Away in a Manger' once or twice, pack it all away again, and think we have celebrated Christmas adequately," writes Meeks. "The season holds so much more for us...God's work through Jesus Christ only begins in the manger. Our joy in God's gift of Jesus to us should be part of our lives every day." With Meeks as your companion and guide, reclaim excitement and refreshment. Expect Christ's reign in your life--today.

An Anthology of Advent readings, collected from the works of 22 classic and contemporary theologians with a high view of Scripture, it will help in preparing your heart to honor the sacredness of each Christmas season.

Through this devotional, Scott James brings to light the many promises of Christ—from birth to ascension—that demonstrate His love for us during this Christmas season.

Journey through Advent and Christmas with the women of Jesus’ family line. Christmas is about so much more than twinkle lights, sugar cookies, and perfect family photos. It’s about the world-changing, transforming, and sometimes messy reality of “God with us.” As we dive deep into the biblical accounts of Jesus’ female ancestors and reflect on God’s presence in their complicated lives, we can begin to release our expectations of a “perfect Christmas” and instead seek the experience of a holy season. Through invitational spiritual practices and reflections, this daily devotional centers the stories of five women in Jesus’ genealogy—Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary—plus three additional female figures connected to Jesus’ early life in the days leading up to Epiphany. You will also find resources for exploring the lives of these women in worship, small group, and retreat settings. This Advent and Christmas season, step into the true power of the Incarnation as we journey together to the manger and encounter the omnipotent God who has come to us in the vulnerable Christ-child. ​Original artwork by Michelle Burkholder

Life is full of unexpected twists and turns and this has been particularly so in 2020. But the most unexpected and significant event in the history of the world actually happened over 2000 years ago when God himself became one of us in the person of Jesus Christ. These Advent reflections, written by David Mathis, help us to lift our eyes to wonder of the incarnation and worship the one who came to save us and make our futures certain. Be amazed once more by the unexpected details of Jesus' unique birth and saving work with these short daily devotions and prayers, and renew your worship of our humble, generous and loving Savior.

How to focus on Christ during Advent Most Christians agree that Christmas is all about Jesus, yet most of us spend little time preparing our hearts to celebrate Him. Why is this? Partly because we don’t know how. In Unwrapping the Names of Jesus, Asheritah Ciuciu leads readers through the four weeks of Advent (Hope, Preparation, Joy, and Love). Each week: Begins with an interactive family devotional that equips readers to celebrate Advent together Offers five daily reflections that focus on that week's name of Jesus Includes suggestions for fun-filled family activities or service projects This devotional can be used by readers in their own personal worship times or as a tool to engage in family worship during the busy holiday season. Either way, participants will gain a greater sense of awe and wonder at who Jesus is. By focusing on the person and character of Jesus throughout the Advent season, readers will prepare their hearts so that when they admire the live nativity, sit in the candlelight service, or wake up on Christian morning, they can join the faithful who sing from the bottom of their hearts, "O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!"

What Matters Most This Christmas Season? Christmas should be a time of joy and celebration. But in the hurriedness of December, sometimes we find ourselves sacrificing a sacred pace for hustle, leaving us feeling more stressed than blessed. What if you approached this Advent more open to the things of God? What if you decided to be expectant that God would move in your midst? What if you made room for the true joy found in the coming of our King? Prepare Him Room invites you to give God sacred space in your holiday season as you ponder the miracle of Christ within you and respond to His work in your life. As you begin your Christmas preparations this year, journey through Luke's account of Jesus' birth, life, death, and ultimate resurrection. God invites you to be still and let Jesus radically transform you this holy season. Let earth receive her King!

Waiting Here for You helps us anticipate rather than dread the busy season of Advent and Christmas. Life is full of waiting – we can’t escape it. We find ourselves in the middle of it every day – waiting on a prognosis to be given…a verdict to be reached…a promotion to be announced. And in these seasons of waiting that anxiety, desperation and hopelessness creep in. Waiting Here For You takes us through the advent – the season of waiting. In it we see the story of the coming of Jesus. It teaches us that waiting is the means God often uses to carry his plans in our lives. And it brings us back to the truth that our waiting is never wasted when we are waiting on God. Join pastor and author Louie Giglio and take hold of the chance to uncover the vast hope offered through the journey of Advent. Find peace and encouragement for your soul as anticipation leads toward celebration! Waiting is not wasted when it is waiting with the Lord.

Gain a better understanding of the church season that leads up to Christmas. Features: - Personal study opportunities for ongoing spiritual growth - Family discipleship activities Benefits: - Enrich yourself spiritually by immersing in the Advent season. - Grow in spiritual maturity with optional family discipleship activities. - Become more spiritually oriented through greater familiarity with Advent.